


At the End of the Day

by EmmsyWhimsy



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Identity Reveal
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-24
Updated: 2018-08-25
Packaged: 2019-07-01 19:21:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15780459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmmsyWhimsy/pseuds/EmmsyWhimsy
Summary: Adrien is seriously injured while patrolling as Chat Noir and steps away from his superhero duties for a few weeks to recuperate. During this time he accidentally uncovers his father's secret and has some life-changing decisions to make. When his world is shattering and he has no one to turn to, what will he choose? Who will he choose? And what will be the consequences of the actions he takes?Spoilers for early season two.





	1. Where it all comes to a head

**Author's Note:**

> Hi all, this is my first fic on AO3, my first in the MLB fandom, and my first non-academic written piece in probably three years. This is unbettad so go easy on me, but if you spot any issues feel free to let me know (constructive criticism preferred, don't be a grumpy Chloe).
> 
> The whole thing is plotted, but not written down yet. I'm not sure exactly how long this story will end up being, but I anticipate 5+ chapters of healthy length (maybe in the 15-20k range?). Thoughts are in italics and will be exclusively from Chat|Adrien's perspective.
> 
> And, as always, I own nothing.

Chat’s heart thuds heavily in his chest as he stiffly forces his legs to continue carrying him forward.

_This is it. I can’t go back. I have to do this – even if I hate myself for it._

Chat stepped cautiously into the dimly lit room, eyes adjusting instantly thanks to the night-vision his miraculous granted him. Standing silhouetted in front of the large circular window was a tall figure with his back to him.

_Hawkmoth. He really does like to follow the supervillain cliché with his flair for the dramatic._

But they are not alone. Glancing around the room, his eyes land on three figures against the wall on his right. His chest tightens painfully as he takes them in.

_No no no…_

Until he’d seen them he had still hoped – clung to the idea that maybe they wouldn’t be here, that somehow they would be left out of this. But Hawkmoth had successfully overcome not only Ladybug, but also Rena Rouge and their newest companion Carapace by sheer number of akumas. Only Rena appears to be conscious, the other two slumped over where they sit, bound with the numerous ropes and chains that the last akuma had wrapped them in.

_Overkill much? Wow, three teenagers in skintight suits must really terrify you. You haven't even stolen their miraculous yet._

Chat resolutely tries not to think about how he should be sitting there with them. But it's a moot point now. He can’t continue to stand in the entryway. The time had come. He steps forward. And then another step. This time, though, his approach is noticed, and he sees Rena perk up as she recognizes him. Her eyes widen, and she seems to try to communicate something to him without drawing attention to his presence.

It doesn’t matter. Hawkmoth turns around, fixing him with a stare. Chat feels laid bare in front of him, but he continues forward nonetheless before stopping a few strides away.

Hawkmoth is the first to break the uneasy silence.

“Thank you for joining me, my son. I take it that you have made your choice?”

Swallowing, he forces his focus to remain on his father and not the three figures on the other side of the room, two of which were starting to stir.

“Yes, sir.” He says, trying to sound confident but failing as his voice wavered slightly. “I – I made my choice. I understand now. It’s the right thing to do. It's the only way.”

Hawkmoth – _no, Father –_ stepped closer to him and seemed to scrutinize him. Then placing his hand on Chat’s shoulder, he said with what might have passed as a smile, “Very well. I knew you would understand once I explained things. I’m proud of you for making the right choice. Soon this all will be over, and we will be a family again.”

A faint gasp came from across the room, and another hushed expression of disbelief. Chat cursed his heightened hearing. Some things he would rather not hear.

Hawkmoth squeezed his son’s shoulder slightly. “Now you know what you must do. You know what I need. Bring it to me. Bring them and we can finish this together.”

Closing his eyes, he breathed, preparing himself. Then reopening his eyes, he squared his shoulders in determination and replied,

“Yes, Father.”


	2. Rewind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The events of chapter one were set in motion three weeks prior with an akuma fight in which Chat Noir and Ladybug face off against Le Infirmière de Nuit (The Night Nurse).

_Three weeks earlier_

 

Chat plummeted toward the ground, having been launched off a tall building by the Akuma of the day, an overworked nurse. Abruptly extending his baton, he used it to slow his momentum enough to land with a tumbling roll. Not wanting to leave his lady by herself for long, though, he launched himself back toward the rooftops and bounded from building to building, led by the sounds of chaos and destruction that indicated where the fight had moved to. Once he reached the scene, it didn’t take long to locate Ladybug and he dropped down beside her with a flip.

“Hello again, m’lady – this Akuma sure seems to have lost her _patients_!” he greeted her with a smirk.

“With the injuries she’s doling out, she’s making herself more patients. Watch out for her, Chat – it may not look like it right now, but she can really do some damage.” Ladybug replies, barely taking her eyes off their opponent to acknowledge his return. “I’d bet anything the akuma is in her clipboard. I just have to get close enough to grab it. She’s hanging onto it tightly, though.”

While they’d been talking, the akuma had been busy wrapping everyone in the vicinity in bandages, completely immobilizing them. Of the superpowers they’d had to face, this was one of the more innocuous. It was hard to see her as too much of a threat when all she was doing was stopping people from moving. Chat stretched in a seemingly leisurely fashion, preparing to jump into the fray.

“Ok, you give it your best shot, and I’ll distract her.” With that, he launched himself toward the akuma, oblivious to a cautionary exclamation from Ladybug.

“Hey! What is it with all the akuma outfits? You might want to go home and change --  you look a little _scrubby_.” He spun his staff toward her feet, intending to trip her. The akuma’s attention was now focused solely on him, and she evaded him with ease.

Her eyes narrowed angrily at him as she exclaimed, “Everyone is always keeping me from doing my job – patients over-exerting themselves, family members pestering me, and doctors who think they know what’s best when they don’t even remember the patients’ names! I am Le Infirmière de Nuit and you can’t stop me, Chat Noir, nor will anyone from now on!” and with that, she stretched out a hand toward him and suddenly a flurry of large hypodermic needles flew at him. He bent out of the way just in time to avoid his costume being refashioned to resemble a hedgehog.

“Feeling a little prickly today, Infirmière? Maybe you should get that checked out.” He flipped to evade several more projectiles and extended his staff towards her, only for her to dodge out of the way. Growling in frustration, she produced a gigantic needle the size of a sword and started to use it to deflect his blows. Every time he got close, she would either dodge or deflect his staff with surprising ease.

Meanwhile, Ladybug had positioned herself behind the akuma and with a spin launched her yoyo toward the clipboard. Infirmière must have heard her, though, because at the last moment the nurse whirled around to face her new opponent and deflected the attack, the yo-yo bouncing away harmlessly.

“Not so clever now, little bug, are we? No one sneaks up on me like that. You’ll have to move a lot faster than that to keep up with me. But wait! Good luck with that when you can’t move at all!” the akuma sneered maliciously as she sent a flurry of gauze at Ladybug, intending to trap her. Ladybug launched herself out of the way just in time, barely avoiding tripping over the long swaths of bandages that now littered the ground.

Ladybug shook herself free and booked a quick retreat several buildings over to regroup, and Chat took the opportunity to join her.

“Got a plan M’lady? I’m on pins and needles here.” He quickly caught his breath as he watched her concentrate.

“She’s fast and hard to sneak up on. I think that this calls for… Lucky Charm!” She threw her yoyo up into the air and then held out her hands to catch the falling item.

“……..” Chat blinked at the object.

“...an industrial sized tub of Jello?” Ladybug blinked at the object in confusion too, but only for a second before she connected the dots on how to use it. “Perfect!”

“I can’t say I’m not feeling ready for a post-akuma-fight snack myself, but I’m not quite seeing how we’ll use this to defeat her.” He commented, rubbing the back of his head.

“Have you ever tried to pin Jello to a wall?” she asked with a smile. “I’ll give you a hint – it’s not easy.”

He grinned back at her, understanding her plan. “I say we give her a taste of her own medicine – ready?”

“Ready” she replied, and they ran back towards where the akuma is searching for them. Chat leaped forward instantly to draw the akuma’s attention. Infirmière was less than happy to see him.

“Ah, the nuisance. I never fully understood the expression “like herding cats” until now – it’s just so hard to pin. You. Down.” The nurse punctuated the last few words with increasingly large needles flying at him, some as long as his forearm.

“Well, Chat is good at needling people” Ladybug said from behind her with a teasing smirk. “I think it’s one of his superpowers.” The akuma whirled around to attack her enemy only to find a projectile rushing toward her face. Without pausing, she swiped it to the side like she had done with every other attack – or at least she tried. The needle-sword sliced straight through the jello, turning the single solid chunk into a mass of smaller chunks that proceeded to burst in her face and run down her body. Her face was covered in shock and Jello, and her vision was partially obscured. This gave Ladybug the advantage she needed to grab the clipboard out of the nurse’s left hand where it had remained clutched the entire time. Ladybug moved backward and prepared to break it and…

The nurse snapped out of her shock and with her remaining force sent a shockwave of needles flying toward ladybug.

Time froze.

Ladybug’s eyes widened as she looked up from the clipboard.

A flash of black.

A yell.

The sound of a body hitting the concrete.

Chat lying on the ground.

His mouth wide in a silent scream.

His eyes connected with hers.

Reality rushed back in, her heart in her throat and her ears ringing as she broke the clipboard, freeing the akuma. Barely paying attention to what she’s doing, she caught and released it again, never looking away from Chat. He was lying on his back with his mouth wide as he panted in pain, over a dozen needles sticking out of his torso – some as big as knitting needles. Blood seeped out of what they had thought was an impenetrable suit.

“Chat!” she screamed, scrambling to his side, desperate to help him. His eyes were screwed up and his teeth clenched down, trying to breath through the pain. She felt helpless for a moment until she remembered she wasn’t. Almost tripping over herself in her hurry, she ran to the discarded Jello bucket and hurriedly launched it into the air, screaming “Miraculous Ladybug” with more desperation than enthusiasm. She watched as the ladybugs descended and began to work their magic before sprinting back to her partner’s side. She reached him just as the ladybugs finished healing him and moved on to some nearby rubble. Her hands hovered over him hesitantly as though she wanted to check if he was alright, but not quite daring to.

“Chat?” she asks softly.

“I’m ok, M’lady. All better, thanks to you.” He says with a smile as he sits up and stretches. “And for the record, Bugaboo, I don’t needle people. If you’ve got a bone to pick with my jokes, I’ll have you know that a lot of people find me quite _Humerus._ ” He holds out his fist for their ritual fist-bump.

Ladybug steps back and only stares at him with an unreadable expression. “I can’t believe you, Chat! Don’t you take any of this seriously? You could have – you could have been killed! We don’t know how far the miraculous ladybug will go, how much it can fix! What – what were you thinking!? This isn’t a joking matter, Chat. This is life and death for us and sometimes for Paris, but you don’t act like it. You waltz in and tell jokes and flirt and – and take stupid risks and you never look before you leap! You act like this is some grand game, that this is some fun adventure or – or some vacation even – rather than facing it for what it is.” She continued to back away, getting more upset with every word, unshed tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

He scrambled up and started to follow her, hands held out in concern, “Ladybug? I- I had to do it, I just… I had to. And I didn’t know my jokes bothered you so much, but it doesn’t mean I don’t take it – this – seriously. I do! I know what’s at stake. I just – I don’t know, if I didn’t react to it the way I do I think it might get too real, you know? This is how I deal with things. I – I’m sorry it seemed like I didn’t care enough. I do, I really do. And I’m sorry I scared you.”

Ladybug’s miraculous started beeping, signaling an end to the conversation. She let her shoulders droop and sighed. “I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have yelled. I just – I’m scared you’ll rush into something and get hurt sometime when I’m not able to fix things or get hurt more than I can fix. I – “, her miraculous beeped again, more urgently and she bit her lip as she turned around. “I have to go. Just be careful, ok?” And with that she threw her yoyo and swung away leaving Chat gaping worriedly behind her.

The nurse chose this moment to speak. “I’m sorry – I don’t know what I did, but I’ve seen this enough on the news I can make an educated guess. I got too angry when…. Oh, it doesn’t matter now. Did I hurt you? I couldn’t help but hear when Ladybug said – “.

“It’s ok”, he cut her off kindly. “The ladybugs fixed everything, no lasting damage. What happened wasn’t your fault. The only one responsible for what happened here is Hawkmoth himself.”

She looked slightly relieved, but still concerned for him. “Thanks, then, for stopping me. I and the rest of Paris owe you a debt of gratitude for all you do.” She paused, considering her next words. “I don’t think anyone really understands how young you two are – and what this must cost you.”

He ducked his head shyly, “Don’t worry about us. It’s an honor to act as the protectors of Paris. You do your part to help, and we do ours.”

She smiled at him, then, and added, “still though – if there’s anything you need – if you ever need help or somewhere to hide or – or anything, really, I don’t know what you might need. But if you or Ladybug need anything, call me.” She handed him a scrap of paper with her name and phone number on it. “Any time, ok? If I don’t answer right away, I may be at the hospital, but I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”

He accepted the paper with a quick “thanks” before she shifted demeanor from concerned to business. “Speaking of which, I should probably get back to work – always something that needs to be done and somebody who needs help. I’ll bet Mr. B is trying to finagle sweets out of visitors again; somebody has to stop him!” And with that, she left.

He stood in the middle of the street, oblivious to the few people who had returned after the fight was over to snap pictures. He stared off into the distance at the rooftop that Ladybug had disappeared onto, her words repeating in his head again and again and tried to shake off the memory of being impaled and unable to breath.

He was fine, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I have had very limited exposure to the medical field, so if you think this isn't what an akumatized nurse would be like, forgive me. My inspiration was a weird combo of a nurse friend and my mother-in-law who both have shared stories that make me think nurses must either have the patience of saints or be the easiest akuma targets ever.
> 
> Also, yes, the Night Nurse is a nod to Marvel.
> 
> This chapter was essential to the storyline, but the next one is where things really get started.

**Author's Note:**

> Don't hate me! All will be explained in due time and everything turns out ok in the end.


End file.
